By Afroz Alam Sahil, Twocircles.net
The Assam 2016 elections will see 29 Muslim MLAs this year, compared to 28 in 2011, with 15 from Congress, 12 from AIUDF and two from Bhartiya Janata Party.
Assam has the second-largest Muslim population After Jammu and Kashmir. As per the 2011 census, Muslims constitute 34% of the state’s population.
Needless to say then, that the Muslim vote has been one of the main pillars of support for the Tarun Gogoi regime during its 15-year reign, with the party doing well in Muslim-majority areas. After five new districts were announced in 2015 and two more in 2016, there are now 34 districts in Assam, of which nine are Muslim-majority areas.
According to some reports, the BJP had brought in nearly 2,000 Maulvis to promote their cause, and it seems to have paid dividends. Along with two Muslim MLAs, the party has also done well in Muslim-majority areas.
